Keelan has balls. comin' out all guns blazing. If he continues on this trajectory he will become the mid-00's Gilbert Arenas of skating.

Mountain Dew patch on snapback is not cool though, i know we live in T.E.T.'s (as Berra likes to say) but c'mon bro

Seriously dude? Having corporate sponsors is not selling out, it just means more money in your pocket so you can pay the bills. When will people realize this? I'm currently writing music and it's not for the money, it's for the love. But I'd have to be really stupid to hope for a career in music in which I don't make any money and live a life of poverty...that just simply makes no sense.

Would you sign with a shitty label if they were the first to offer you a paycheck?

That's not even the point. Bottom line is skateboarders and all other athletes/artists are entitled to make money for being good at what they do. How they make the money is THEIR business, not yours and doesn't speak less of their character unless it's against their integrity. Maybe it simply doesn't bother him to be sponsored by Pepsi and they offer a lot of money. Would you ditch an opportunity like that just because it's a big corporation?

I could give a big fat fuck about what people are wearing, it was just nice to see a dude come out and do some different shit for once. He also has this weird ability to hang in the air until his board is done flipping.

I could give a big fat fuck about what people are wearing, it was just nice to see a dude come out and do some different shit for once. He also has this weird ability to hang in the air until his board is done flipping.

Im interested to know how old all the people are who wanna talk shit about guys "selling out". If you have been off your mommys teet for any time at all, youd think differently about what people do to pay their bills. Give me a few grand, hell a few hundred or whatever every time I sip a Dew Ha on camera and you better believe Im gonna be all hopped up on Mountain Dew.

My favorite part of Reda's pre-game chat with Keelan: the disconnect between Reda's handshake and Keelan daps.

Even though I moderately enjoy his skating, I agree there are cringe-worthy aspects of public persona; among them: personal websites, desperately trying to resurrect that 90s trend where you keep the tags on, and the Tiger Woods-like elbow sink he does after he gets his first letter on Fynn.

Logged

While 1 poster brings 2 our attention da rumor that Ethan sat @ home and made salsa,another states Mr.Fowler sat out a demo bc it was "2 hot".I was initially psyched on da salsa revelation,but left wondering if Fowl cant take heat how does this effect da salsa?Sounds like his salsa is quite bland.

Im interested to know how old all the people are who wanna talk shit about guys "selling out". If you have been off your mommys teet for any time at all, youd think differently about what people do to pay their bills. Give me a few grand, hell a few hundred or whatever every time I sip a Dew Ha on camera and you better believe Im gonna be all hopped up on Mountain Dew.

Im interested to know how old all the people are who wanna talk shit about guys "selling out". If you have been off your mommys teet for any time at all, youd think differently about what people do to pay their bills. Give me a few grand, hell a few hundred or whatever every time I sip a Dew Ha on camera and you better believe Im gonna be all hopped up on Mountain Dew.

Keelan has balls. comin' out all guns blazing. If he continues on this trajectory he will become the mid-00's Gilbert Arenas of skating.

Mountain Dew patch on snapback is not cool though, i know we live in T.E.T.'s (as Berra likes to say) but c'mon bro

Seriously dude? Having corporate sponsors is not selling out, it just means more money in your pocket so you can pay the bills. When will people realize this? I'm currently writing music and it's not for the money, it's for the love. But I'd have to be really stupid to hope for a career in music in which I don't make any money and live a life of poverty...that just simply makes no sense.

Would you sign with a shitty label if they were the first to offer you a paycheck?

That's not even the point. Bottom line is skateboarders and all other athletes/artists are entitled to make money for being good at what they do. How they make the money is THEIR business, not yours and doesn't speak less of their character unless it's against their integrity. Maybe it simply doesn't bother him to be sponsored by Pepsi and they offer a lot of money. Would you ditch an opportunity like that just because it's a big corporation?

no; how they make THEIR money is through OUR business, and that makes how they they make their money OUR business.

also on a general note- this isn't fucking nascar- one garment = one sponsor

Keelan has balls. comin' out all guns blazing. If he continues on this trajectory he will become the mid-00's Gilbert Arenas of skating.

Mountain Dew patch on snapback is not cool though, i know we live in T.E.T.'s (as Berra likes to say) but c'mon bro

Seriously dude? Having corporate sponsors is not selling out, it just means more money in your pocket so you can pay the bills. When will people realize this? I'm currently writing music and it's not for the money, it's for the love. But I'd have to be really stupid to hope for a career in music in which I don't make any money and live a life of poverty...that just simply makes no sense.

Would you sign with a shitty label if they were the first to offer you a paycheck?

That's not even the point. Bottom line is skateboarders and all other athletes/artists are entitled to make money for being good at what they do. How they make the money is THEIR business, not yours and doesn't speak less of their character unless it's against their integrity. Maybe it simply doesn't bother him to be sponsored by Pepsi and they offer a lot of money. Would you ditch an opportunity like that just because it's a big corporation?

Yes.

If I were in the position to be paid by a giant corporation, then I'm good enough to pull an offer (a smaller one, obviously) from a company that I actually respected, and wanted to be associated with. I would absolutely pass on the six figures for a smaller check to help support and promote something I would have been a part of anyway, without them paying me for it. Would you wear Ku Klux Klan gear for a big enough paycheck? That's all you're really saying with the "Who cares what they stand for, get the money" approach. People have different morals. Some people find giant corporations evil. Other people don't. Lets be honest, though, a lot of the guys in skateboarding who have giant sponsors aren't doing it because they love the product, or support how Nike shoes are made. They just want the check.

But that's just me, and some people.

Maybe Keelan is on the opposite side of the fence. Maybe he doesn't have a problem with giant corporations, and he's actually really fucking psyched on Mountain Dew. If he doesn't have a problem with these companies, why the fuck wouldn't he take a giant check from them?

Keelan has balls. comin' out all guns blazing. If he continues on this trajectory he will become the mid-00's Gilbert Arenas of skating.

Mountain Dew patch on snapback is not cool though, i know we live in T.E.T.'s (as Berra likes to say) but c'mon bro

Seriously dude? Having corporate sponsors is not selling out, it just means more money in your pocket so you can pay the bills. When will people realize this? I'm currently writing music and it's not for the money, it's for the love. But I'd have to be really stupid to hope for a career in music in which I don't make any money and live a life of poverty...that just simply makes no sense.

Would you sign with a shitty label if they were the first to offer you a paycheck?

That's not even the point. Bottom line is skateboarders and all other athletes/artists are entitled to make money for being good at what they do. How they make the money is THEIR business, not yours and doesn't speak less of their character unless it's against their integrity. Maybe it simply doesn't bother him to be sponsored by Pepsi and they offer a lot of money. Would you ditch an opportunity like that just because it's a big corporation?

Yes.

If I were in the position to be paid by a giant corporation, then I'm good enough to pull an offer (a smaller one, obviously) from a company that I actually respected, and wanted to be associated with. I would absolutely pass on the six figures for a smaller check to help support and promote something I would have been a part of anyway, without them paying me for it. Would you wear Ku Klux Klan gear for a big enough paycheck? That's all you're really saying with the "Who cares what they stand for, get the money" approach. People have different morals. Some people find giant corporations evil. Other people don't. Lets be honest, though, a lot of the guys in skateboarding who have giant sponsors aren't doing it because they love the product, or support how Nike shoes are made. They just want the check.

But that's just me, and some people.

Maybe Keelan is on the opposite side of the fence. Maybe he doesn't have a problem with giant corporations, and he's actually really fucking psyched on Mountain Dew. If he doesn't have a problem with these companies, why the fuck wouldn't he take a giant check from them?

Sorry/drunk rant.

I completely understand where you're coming from on this and your last paragraph pretty much states what I was trying to say. It's no one's fucking business but his who he chooses to associate with. I also think that a lot of people in this thread don't seem to get that making money is an essential part to being a skateboarder for a living....how are you going to continue to do it if you can't afford gas to travel and food to eat.

On a lighter note, been there done that, everyone has a drunk rant every now and then

listen man, if you are a pro skateboarder you are a PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE. sponsorships are where most of your income comes from. some people would rather drive a Benz or be able to put there family ina nice big house. its important to still have fun with the shit and enjoy what you do but at the end of the day everything you do with your career cant be 100% "for the love". its easy to say you wouldnt turn the money down, but there are (a few) wealthy pros who make much more than your average upper-middle class person. if you wanna make the $$$ like that by simply skateboarding all day you gotta make a few sacrifices. some of yall might look at a target or red bull sponsor as lame & not authentic, but to the person signing that contract they might feel like its a good deal given there own personal circumstances. people are gonna do what they feel is best for them. i say as long as you keep skating and putting out footage, sign with whatever sponsors you want. you're a professional athlete, getting endorsement deals & the perks that come along with it is an easy way to come up.

listen man, if you are a pro skateboarder you are a PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE. sponsorships are where most of your income comes from.

But most "PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE"s are judged in a very quantifiable way. If you can score a certain amount of points or run a certain time or help your team win no one is going to talk shit on your gear, music selection, corporate endorsements, etc.

Skateboarding is a bit different. The skater is basically marketing them self. No one cares about contests, video parts and photos are king. People on SLAP joke on skaters all the time for having kooky sponsors. A lot of skaters I respect have never really had to go the corporate route and are very successful (Mike C, Rickk, Ed, Reynolds).

I also completely understand the other side. If I was saving for the future, had a family to feed, etc. and Wal-Mart came knocking, I'd probably listen to what they had to say. When you take that money you're telling the world that's what you're into. I couldn't imagine Guy's Mouse part or Gonz in Video Days with them rocking a neon Monster shirt and a Target hat in every clip.

It's great when my city doesn't provide a water fountain at the skate plaza and a mountain dew van drives by once a day and throws skids of old warm 'dew bottles beside the dumpster for everyone to drink. fuck water. mountain dew is a sick company why u hating?

listen man, if you are a pro skateboarder you are a PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE. sponsorships are where most of your income comes from.

But most "PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE"s are judged in a very quantifiable way. If you can score a certain amount of points or run a certain time or help your team win no one is going to talk shit on your gear, music selection, corporate endorsements, etc.

Skateboarding is a bit different. The skater is basically marketing them self. No one cares about contests, video parts and photos are king. People on SLAP joke on skaters all the time for having kooky sponsors. A lot of skaters I respect have never really had to go the corporate route and are very successful (Mike C, Rickk, Ed, Reynolds).

I also completely understand the other side. If I was saving for the future, had a family to feed, etc. and Wal-Mart came knocking, I'd probably listen to what they had to say. When you take that money you're telling the world that's what you're into. I couldn't imagine Guy's Mouse part or Gonz in Video Days with them rocking a neon Monster shirt and a Target hat in every clip.

i see what you're saying, and there are ways to do good for yourself outside of sponsorships but if all you wanna do is skate all day (not manage a brand, etc) sponsorships are the way to go. look at P-Rod for example. dude has the corporate sponsor HOOK UP. mtn dew remodeled his private park, target gives him free gift cards to buy whatever he wants, AT&T gives em free cell phone service...i would not mind telling the world that thats what im into, and all he has to do is skate & goto a few business meetings. id say thats a good deal. again, once the shit becomes your actual job you gon have to look at things a bit differently. would yall rather work a 9-5 making decent money while tryna squeeze in time to skate or would you rather skate all day with a few extra logos on you to be a millionaire? theres the middle ground where most pro's are at but personally if i had the opportunity id take the sponsorship. that is, if i agreed with the contract. i wouldnt just pick up ANY sponsorship that throws money my way but if it was a good deal for me & my situation overall id prolly take it.

Arizona sucks. I mean, it's ok if you're into just drinking sugar water, but there isn't a single tea leaf in the tea, and the rest is just corn syrup. Super overrated. People think they're getting a bargain by getting a tall can for a dollar. Jokes on you, bro, it's just water and sugar.

On the topic of sponsorships, I'll let most kooky sponsorships slide because:

a) I think being a pro skater is one of the hardest jobs in sports. Think of how many people are in the NBA, MLB, NFL etc. and now look how many pro skaters there are. Now look how many pro skaters make more than 100k. All the "real" athletes start out at a few hundred grand. minimum. I think skaters earn their pay and then some

b) It sucks to think that our favorite pros can be out of the industry and working shitty jobs just to keep the lights on. Wasn't Heath delivering pizza at one point? Most of these guys don't go to college, and a good number of them don't even finish high school. But they found something they love and they're talented at. If they want to leach some corporate asshole's money just by putting a patch on their hat, I say fuck it, and get that money.

Arizona sucks. I mean, it's ok if you're into just drinking sugar water, but there isn't a single tea leaf in the tea, and the rest is just corn syrup. Super overrated. People think they're getting a bargain by getting a tall can for a dollar. Jokes on you, bro, it's just water and sugar.

I remember that drink being the shit back in high school. It was the drink to get if you were on a tight budget. But it never quenched your thirst at all haha. All it does is make you even more thirsty because of all the sugar.